


Worth Everything

by MidnightValkyrie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Hogwarts Eighth Year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:53:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25091170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightValkyrie/pseuds/MidnightValkyrie
Summary: Upon returning for their Eighth Year at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy apologizes to Hermione Granger. He just has no idea what that simple action will bloom into.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 14
Kudos: 195
Collections: LoveDump 2020





	Worth Everything

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NuclearNik](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NuclearNik/gifts).



> This ficlet is dedicated to my favorite Hufflepuff and beta. You were one of my first fandom friends and I'm forever glad that we met. You are uplifting, supportive, and impossibly kind. I'm honored to be able to call you friend. This fandom would be a much darker place if you weren't in it. <3<3<3<3<3
> 
> This fic is based on the image found here:   
> [https://nuclearnik.tumblr.com/post/620507561529147392](url)

Draco Malfoy sat on the sofa in the 8th years dorm, a book open on his lap, yet he wasn’t reading. Instead his attention was on the witch pacing back and forth in front of the fire as she ranted about the latest letter from her parents. Hermione finally stopped waving it around and wadded it up, pitching it into the flames moments later before resuming her manic movements.

Their friendship was something nobody had seen coming, but which had started with a heartfelt apology and simple forgiveness in their first week back. 

When she’d seen how the others in their year who returned to complete their education treated him, she refused to tolerate it.

“I did  _ not _ survive a war only for this behavior to continue. I suggest you all stop immediately.” The or else hung ominously in the air as her magic swirled around her, like the energy in the air before a lightning storm. It slowed several of them down, but didn’t stop it entirely, especially from the Seventh Years. There were threats made to his person by multiple of their peers should he so much as blink wrong at her but he’d expected that.

He felt as if he deserved their treatment after all he’d done, but she wasn’t having any of that either. Instead she inserted herself into his study times, pulled him off to have lunch in the kitchens with her instead of in the great hall, and walked the streets of Hogsmeade by his side, unafraid of what any of them thought. 

He’d tried to resist, mostly for her own good, but Granger was a force to be reckoned with and by the time of the first snowfall, they were as close as she and Red were. Getting to know her made Draco mourn the years they’d lost, the nights he could have spent talking with her about potions, arithmancy and their love of rare books and card games. They may not have shared Firewhiskey from a secret flask until now, but he could envision them with tea or Butterbeer in its stead.

As she paced, he caught himself staring at her mouth. More and more lately he found himself wondering what she tasted like, how those soft lips would feel pressed against his. It’d taken everything in him not to find out when he’d wrapped his scarf around her neck during their walk around the lake. 

She’d tried to pretend that she wasn’t freezing, but he saw through it as easily as he’d ever seen through Pansy. So he’d stopped her and wound it around her, tucking in the very ends underneath her chin. He’d stolen a moment to stare at her, taking in the pink of her cheeks and the brightness of her eyes as she stared back. The cawing of the local crows broke them from their reverie as they began chattering once they realized the pair weren’t there to feed them. 

They’d returned to the castle where she’d excused herself to the library. He wandered the corridors, wondering if he hadn’t ruined everything. He’d returned to their common room about fifteen minutes ahead of her. When she came back in, however, it was as if nothing was amiss. She’d plopped down right next to him in front of the fire and began reading the book she’d checked out.

Then the owl came and upset her by whatever the letter contained. She’d been ranting and raving for twenty minutes before throwing it in the fire.

“What am I supposed to do, Draco? Just throw away everything I fought for? Turn my back on all of my relationships? On you? They’re mad if they think I’m going to give you up now when I’ve just found you.” Her hands bunched into fists as her eyes narrowed in fury. Her hair seemed to have come to life, but he wasn’t entirely sure if that was because of her magic or if she possibly had genealogical ties to Medusa that manifested when angered.

What she’d said about not giving him up rang in his ears and he couldn’t stop himself. He hoisted himself from the couch, the book falling to the floor with a thump, ignored by both of them. It only took him a few short strides to round the coffee table and cup her face in his hands. His gaze flicked back and forth between each of her eyes before darting down to her soft mouth. It felt like forever, but he chose a slow descent to give her time to back out.

Their mouths connected and he felt a sense of rightness wash over him as her arms slid around his waist and she stepped into him. A vision floated through his mind, of them together in a flat. She was curled up against him on a sofa as they watched a flickering picture box and he knew that whatever it took to get them to that point would be worth it. 

She was worth everything.


End file.
